Hero

Author: Alexz Recoro

Summary: Clint and Natasha reunite after The Winter Soldier. One-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Author's Note: This is just something I came up with after watching The Winter Soldier. It's short, but it was late. Read and review.

Together

"One more thing, Romanoff." Nick Fury said, stopping Natasha from walking away.

"Sir?"

"When you're rebuilding, it helps to have a friendly face around." He pointed behind with his good arm, and she turned.

Her heart stopped. Then started racing. Because crossing the cemetery toward her was Clint Barton. He was limping, badly, almost stumbling, and his face was a mess of cuts and bruises, including one very spectacular one blooming across his left cheekbone. But he was alive, and when her eyes meet his, he grinned and his eyes lit up.

She took one step, then another. But the third step, she was running; by the fifth, she was sprinting. She almost knocked him flat, almost. But he knew her, could read her like an open book, and he was ready for her. He dropped his bow, caught her around the waist and pulled her tight against his chest. She wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his. For a few precious seconds, she just closed her eyes and breathed him in.

"You're here." She whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm here." He whispered back. She pulled back, needing to see him, and he loosened his grip, letting her slid down his chest until her feet touched the ground and she was looking up at him.

"I was worried about you." She cupped his cheek with her hand, her thumb brushing the bruise. He flinched, but grabbed her wrist and kept her hand pressed against his cheek.

"I'm sorry Natasha." He said, his eyes serious.

"For what?"

"You needed me and I was stuck in a cave in Pakistan. You were in danger, running for your life, and I wasn't here to watch your back. You needed me, and I wasn't here."

"Oh, Clint." Natasha lifted her other hand to cradle his face. "You were on a mission, you were doing your job, and then you had to fight for yourself. I was okay, Steve was watching my back." She grinned. "He's not half bad. He let me kick Sitwell off a roof."

"Sitwell was Hydra?" Clint's hand left Natasha's wrist and started playing with the edges of her hair. "Figures. I never liked that guy."

"The look on his face when I kicked him off the roof was great. But we needed information, so Sam had to catch him."

"Sam?" Clint was totally playing with her hair, curling strands around his fingers.

"Sam Wilson. He's cool; I'll tell you all about him." Her mischievous side kicked in and she slid her hands from his cheeks to the back of his neck.

"Steve kissed me." She said innocently, grinning at the heat that flared in his eyes and the way his hands tightened on her, one on her waist, and one in her hair.

"Did he now." His voice didn't change, but a muscle ticked in his jaw. Natasha laughed, unable to hold back any more.

"It was a cover. It was awkward." She stroked the back of his neck. "I wished it was you."

"Did you now." He was grinning now, his natural cockiness coming back. Natasha nodded.

"Yeah. Steve's from the 40's. He's got no game. At least if it had been you, I would have enjoyed it."

"That's a fact." Clint was grinning, and used his hand in her hair to pull her even closer and leaned down. He kissed her, for the first time, in a cemetery. The organization they had dedicated their lives too was in shambles. They were probably at the top of the worlds Most Wanted list. They had blown their covers and would have to start again from scratch. But they were smiling.

And they were together. That was all that mattered.